World leaders take photos as Pope Francis’s coffin is carried away, displaying a range of behaviors to honor him.

After mourners were criticized for taking selfies with the body of Pope Francis earlier this week, you would think the world’s leaders would consider leaving their phones in their pockets for the pontiff’s funeral.

However, a number of dignitaries couldn’t resist pulling out their mobiles to take pictures and videos of the late Pope’s humble wooden casket as it was carried back towards St Peter’s Basilica.

As many in the front row – including US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and Finland’s President Alexander Stubb – burst into applause, those further back could be seen holding their devices aloft.

It was a key moment of the ceremony when the world’s most important leaders were careful to show respect, however at the same time some dignitaries pulled out their phones and began filming.

Among those capturing a sneaky shot of the Pope’s coffin was Switzerland’s president, Karin Keller-Sutter, and Deputy Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, Tomas Tayebwa, who tweeted a picture of the coffin being carried out.

Following his death at the age of 88 on Monday, Pope Francis was today bid goodbye by some 250,000 mourners, including top global leaders and dignitaries.

Those in attendance included Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, as well as Prince William for the UK.

US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania were in attendance, as were the majority of European leaders, including Emmanual Macron, Olaf Scholz and Georgia Meloni. 

Notably, while Ukrainian President Zelensky and his wife were present, Putin did not attend.

Monarchies from all over the world also sent representatives, with ten reigning monarchs also in attendance.

While most of the dignitaries stood respectfully throughout the service, some were spotted making a faux-pas as Pope Francis’ coffin left St Paul’s Square and returned to the Basilica, ahead of its journey to his final resting place.

Attendees further back in the seating plan were spotted taking photographs and videos of the coffin while others stood looking somberly on. 

Elsewhere, Joe Biden was spotted taking selfies with several officials – but not while the service was ongoing.

One of these was a selfie with the Deputy Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, Tomas Tayebwa. 

It came after President Trump was accused of breaking strict Vatican dress code by wearing a pin of the American flag on his left lapel. 

During the funeral, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re – who led the service – said: ‘The final image we have of him, which will remain etched in our memory, in our eyes and our hearts is that of last Sunday, Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis, despite his serious health problems, wanted to give us his blessings from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.

‘He then came down to this square to greet from his open pope-mobile the large crowd gathered for the Easter mass.’

Cardinal Re also said the Pope ‘incessantly raised his voice’ for peace and urged people to ‘build bridges not walls’.

The Vatican said more than 250,000 people attended the funeral.

Others who attended include the Prince of Wales – who attended on behalf of the King, Sir Keir and his wife Victoria, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Irish President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Tanaiste Simon Harris, Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney and Michelle O’Neill, the First Minister of Northern Ireland.

Before the funeral William, side by side with Sir Keir, stood for a moment’s silence in front of Pope Francis’s sealed wooden and zinc coffin in its place before the altar in St Peter’s Basilica.

It is the first time the prince has represented the monarch at an international funeral.

William spoke briefly to US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump on his way into the service.

The seating plan was based on a complex order of precedence, with Argentina – the country of the Pope’s birth – and Italy at the front.

Other sovereigns, heads of state, and heads of government were then seated in alphabetical order of their countries’ names in the French language – used because French is considered the language of diplomacy.

Cardinal Re also told the crowd Pope Francis was ‘a pope among the people’ who ‘truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time’.

The cardinal said: ‘He was a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone.

‘He was also a pope attentive to the signs of the times and what the Holy Spirit was awakening in the Church, with his characteristic vocabulary and language rich in images and metaphors, he always sought to shed light on the problems of our time with the wisdom of the gospel.’

The cardinal added: ‘He had great spontaneity and an informal way of addressing everyone, even those far from the Church. Rich in human warmth and deeply sensitive to today’s challenges, Pope Francis truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time.

‘He gave of himself by comforting and encouraging us with a message capable of reaching people’s hearts in a direct and immediate way.

‘His charisma of welcome and listening combined with a manner of behaviour in keeping with today’s sensitivities touched hearts and sought to reawaken moral and spiritual sensibilities.’

Crowds at the funeral applauded as the pontiff’s coffin was brought back into St Peter’s Basilica after the open-air mass.

It was then taken via police motorcade to Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, where Pope Francis will be buried during a private ceremony.

He will be the first Pope not to be buried at the Vatican in 100 years.

The crowds, packed with young people, applauded as the pope’s coffin was carried out of St Peter’s Basilica by white gloved pallbearers, accompanied by more than 200 red-robed cardinals.

Guests included Argentina’s President Javier Milei – Pope Francis was an Argentinian.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, led the service, addressing thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square.

But it was be prisoners and migrants who ultimately ushered the pope into the basilica where he will be buried, reflecting his priorities as head of the Catholic Church.

Hundreds of thousands of people turned out in St Peter’s Square, joining world leaders and special guests to mourn and formally mark Francis’ passing.

Bells tolled as the last of leaders from more than 150 countries took their places on Saturday.

The massive crowd was largely silent, watching proceedings on several large screens around the square.

Applause then rang out at the start of the ceremony as 14 white-gloved pallbearers carried the coffin, inlaid with a large cross, out of St. Peter’s Basilica and into the square.

The pope’s casket was placed on a carpet in front of the altar, with the book of gospels laid on top, as the Vatican choirs sang. 

Choirs sang Latin hymns and prayers were recited in various languages, including Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese and Arabic, reflecting the global reach of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church.

Massed ranks of red-robed cardinals sat to one side of the altar, facing rows of black-suited world leaders on the other side. 

In front of them were hundreds of priests in white vestments and then thousands of ordinary mourners.

‘I’m touched by how many people are here. It’s beautiful to see all these nationalities together,’ said Jeremie Metais, 29, from Grenoble, France, ahead of the ceremony.

‘It’s a bit like the centre of the world today.’

‘We want to say goodbye because he (was a) living saint, very humble and simple,’ said Mary James, a Franciscan nun, who had stayed up overnight to guarantee a good place. 

‘You can feel a lot of energy, yes, a little bit of despair because we are tired, but ultimately we want to come and say ‘thank you’, thanks to Pope Francis for all he did for his church,’ said Eduardo Valencia, visiting from Mexico.

The crowd broke into applause when Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re spoke of Francis’ care for immigrants, his constant pleas for peace, the need for negotiations to end wars and the importance of the climate.

‘Rich in human warmth and deeply sensitive to today’s challenges, Pope Francis truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time,’ Re said.

The Argentine pontiff, who died on Easter Monday, wanted his grave to be within the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, four miles from the Vatican, and which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

His will said he wanted it to be ‘in the earth’ and with just a simple tombstone carrying his name in Latin, Franciscus and a black cross for decoration.

As the converted Popemobile hearse wound its way past the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Roman Forum and the Colosseum, thousands turned out to line the streets.

For one last time Pope Francis made his way from the Vatican, symbolically crossing the River Tiber, as he made the 30-minute journey to the church in the Esquilino district.

In his will, Pope Francis specifically asked that his final resting place be ‘in the niche of the side nave between the Cappella Paolina and the Capella Sforza’.

Above his is the marble memorial plaque of Paul V, who died in 1621 and who was Pope at the time of the Gunpowder Plot.

The Cappella Paolina holds the Salus Populi Romani icon, which according to tradition was painted by St Luke and shows the Virgin Mary holding the baby Christ, and which was also brought to the altar for his funeral yesterday.

In his autobiography Pope Francis wrote: ‘I’ve always had a great devotion to Santa Maria Maggiore, even before I became pope.’

He visited the church more than 120 times and returned there on his way back from the Gemelli hospital on March 23, after his 38-day stay, to lay flowers and he was there on April 12 to pray one final time.

The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is particularly significant to Catholic faithful this year as Pope Francis had decaled 2025 to be a Jubilee year.

According to tradition those that pass through the Basilica’s Porta Santa (Holy Door) on the left-hand side of the building, will have ‘redemption and forgiveness.’

Some of those who travelled from the UK and Ireland told of the importance of being present in-person to celebrate Francis’s life and reign as pope.

Phil Callaghan, from Manchester, said he booked flights as soon as the Pope died, describing the crowds gathered in the city as ‘astounding’ and that ‘it’s shown just how much Pope Francis meant to people’.

Speaking in Rome, friend and fellow Mancunian Kate Wilkinson said it had been ‘an incredible opportunity to witness history’, describing it as ‘the most amazing moment of my life’.

Her partner Brian Casey, from Galway, said it had been important to ‘come here to pay homage to a man that we both have huge respect for and indeed affection for and love for’.